Published January 3, 2017

Soil Fertility Management

in Agroecosystems
Copyright © 2016 by American Society of Agronomy, Inc.
 Crop Science Society of America, Inc.
Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

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products not mentioned.

American Society of Agronomy, Inc.

Crop Science Society of America, Inc.
Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711-5801 USA

agronomy.org | soils.org | crops.org

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ISBN: 978-0-89118-353-2 (print)

ISBN: 978-0-89118-354-9 (digital)
doi:10.2134/soilfertility
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016961005

ACSESS Publications
ISSN: 2165-9842 (online)
ISSN: 2165-9834 (print)

Cover design: Patricia Scullion

Printed in the United States of America.

ii Soil Fertility Management in Agroecosystems

Soil Fertility Management
in Agroecosystems
Amitava Chatterjee and David Clay, Editors

Book and Multimedia Publishing Committee

April Ulery, Chair
Elizabeth Guertal, ASA Editor-in-Chief
C. Wayne Smith, CSSA Editor-in-Chief
David Myrold, SSSA Editor-in-Chief
Lajpat Ahuja
Sangamesh Angadi
David Clay
David Fang
Girisha Ganjegunte
Robert Graham
Zhongqi He
Srirama Krishna Reddy
Limei Liu
Shuyu Liu
Sally Logsdon
Trenton Roberts
Nooreldeen Shawqi Ali
Gurpal Toor

Director of Publications: Bill Cook

Managing Editor: Lisa Al-Amoodi

Chatterjee & Clay iii

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Soil Fertility: Current US Situation and Challenges

Amitava Chatterjee ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2

Crop-Specific Nutrient Management

David Franzen��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������12

Assessing a Fertilizer Program: Short- and Long-Term Approaches

David E. Clay, Graig Reicks, Jiyul Chang, Tulsi Kharel,
and Stephanie A.H. Bruggeman ����������������������������������������������������������������� 44

Introduction to Conceptual Models, Calculating and Using Rate

Constants, Economics, and Problem Solving
Gregg Carlson, David E. Clay, and Sharon A. Clay���������������������������������������56

Optimization of Financially Constrained Fertilizer Use

Charles Wortmann and Kayuki Kaizzi���������������������������������������������������������� 66

Cover Crops Impacts on Nitrogen Scavenging, Nitrous Oxide Emissions,

Nitrogen Fertilizer Replacement, Erosion, and Soil Health
Amitava Chatterjee and David E. Clay ���������������������������������������������������������76

Soil and Nitrogen Management to Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions

Jerry L. Hatfield ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 90

The Use of Enriched and Natural Abundance Nitrogen and Carbon

Isotopes in Soil Fertility Research
David Clay, Cheryl Reese, Stephanie A.H. Bruggeman,
and Janet Moriles-Miller ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 110

Soil and Fertilizer Management Practices to Control Nutrient Losses

under Subsurface Tile-Drained Conditions
Amitava Chatterjee ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������124

Biological and Biochemical Tests for Assessing Soil Fertility

Warren A. Dick and Steven W. Culman������������������������������������������������������134

Chatterjee & Clay v

Preface
Soils sustain life and provide the nutrients, water, and oxygen crucial for crop
production. With time, the concept of soil fertility has been expanded from
making a fertilizer recommendation to industry efforts to use climate-driven
simulation models for optimizing soil health and fertilizer efficiency, while mini-
mizing agriculture’s impact on the environment. Increasingly, we are adopting
the principles of precision agriculture for improving crop nutrient use efficiency
and minimizing nutrient losses. Scientists are also integrating on-farm testing
into their research programs. In these studies, natural abundance stable isotopic
techniques are being used to improve our understanding carbon, nitrogen, and
water cycling.
For the requirements of our future workforce, it is imperative that we modify
our curricula to account for a dynamic environment—agronomists and soil scien-
tists are increasingly challenged by extreme climatic conditions, and farmers are
experimenting with integrating cover crops into their rotations and reducing till-
age intensity and the amount of chemical fertilizers applied to their soils. Farmers
wonder about the value of soil health, industry agronomists are using simula-
tion models to develop locally based recommendations, and environmentalists
are concerned about carbon footprints. Many advanced soil fertility textbooks do
not address these critical issues.
The purpose of this book was not to reiterate the basic soil fertility facts dis-
cussed elsewhere, but to present and discuss examples of how modern research
tools can help develop better answers to production and environmental ques-
tions. The editors are heavily indebted to the contributing authors, and we invite
researchers, students, and extension personnel across the country to provide
feedback, comments, and suggestions on the material, so that we can incorporate
their comments in future editions.

Amitava Chatterjee and David Clay, Editors

Chatterjee & Clay vii

Contributors
Bruggeman, Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Stephanie A.H. Brookings, SD 57007 (Stephanie.Bruggeman@sdstate.edu)

Carlson, Gregg Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (gregg.carlson@sdstate.edu)

Chang, Jiyul Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (Jiyul.Chang@sdstate.edu)

Chatterjee, Amitava Dep. of Soil Science, Walster 133, 1402 Albrecht Blvd., North Dakota State Univ., Fargo,
ND 58108 (amitava.chatterjee@ndsu.edu)

Clay, David E. Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (david.clay@sdstate.edu)

Clay, Sharon A. Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (sharon.clay@sdstate.edu)

Culman, Steven W. The Ohio State University, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680
Madison, Ave., Wooster, OH 44691 (culman.2@osu.edu)

Dick, Warren A. The Ohio State University, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680
Madison, Ave., Wooster, OH 44691 (dick.5@osu.edu)

Franzen, David North Dakota State Univ., Dep. 7180, P.O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108 (david.franzen@
ndsu.edu)

Hatfield, Jerry L. National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, 2110 University Blvd., Ames, IA
50011 (jerry.hatfield@ars.usda.gov)

Kaizzi, Kayuki National Agricultural Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 7065, Kampala, Uganda (kckaizzi@
gmail.com)

Kharel, Tulsi Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (Tulsi.Kharel@sdstate.edu)

Moriles-Miller, Janet Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (janet.miller@sdstate.edu)

Reese, Cheryl Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (Cheryl.Reese@sdstate.edu)

Reicks, Graig Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Berg Agricultural Hall, P.O. Box 2207A,
Brookings, SD 57007 (graig.reicks@sdstate.edu)

Wortmann, Charles Dep. of Agronomy and Horticulture, Univ. Nebraska–Lincoln, 279 Plant Science, Lincoln, NE
68583-0915 (cwortmann2@unl.edu)

Chatterjee & Clay ix